


Down The Drain

by rosemusiclive



Category: Hat Films - Fandom, The Yogscast
Genre: Blood, Drowning, Main Character Death, Minor Character Death, Multi, Natural Disasters, Nausea, Swearing, The Impossible AU, Vomiting, Wounds, disorientation, mention of flying and fear of flying, tsunami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:37:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3647178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosemusiclive/pseuds/rosemusiclive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This shouldn't have happened. There was no way this was happening. It didn't make sense, there's no way this could have happened.</p><p>It was just a holiday. Just a little trip for a convention. Just a little stop over in Singapore.</p><p>It had been so hard and fast and dark and cold and <em>fuck</em>, he couldn't breathe.</p><p>Then it was over.</p><p>Everything was gone.</p><p>He was alone.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>This shouldn't have happened.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tremors

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration from the movie 'The Impossible' but does not follow the same plot. Different location, more people, increased death toll.
> 
> Also please ignore my blatant disregard for any realistic geography, land mass and tsunami possibility is exaggerated for the sake of the fic.
> 
> Big thanks to my beta: http://some-random-girls-blog.tumblr.com/

—————

_Today Singapore pays tribute to those who fell victim of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. The tsunami killed 230,000 people after an earthquake struck the Sumatra coast in Indonesia, and shows "how fragile and uncertain human life is, and how resilient and united we must be in the face of adversity," said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Though Singapore was not one of the main countries affected by the tragedy, due to it’s protection from the land masses of Malaysia and Indonesia, the country still pays its respects and offers aid to those who need it._

—————

Trott sighed deeply, leaning his head against the window of the plane. He was already exhausted, the last few hours being a blur of passport control and baggage check in’s, the last thing he needed was a twelve hour flight with little-to-no leg room and Alex Smith sitting next to him. Drumming his fingers on the arm rest with rhythmic patience, he waited for the flight attendants to finish showing them where the multiple exits were and watched as men in high vis jackets detached the stairways from the plane.

That being said, under his exhaustion hid terrible excitement. There was something alluring about the idea of a holiday, even if said holiday was being spent with his work colleagues. It wasn’t even a proper holiday, just a little trip to go to a convention. That convention just happened to be in Australia, and that meant a two week stay down under with a few days crossing in Singapore to boot.

He was still nervously excited though. Something about the idea of taking a break abroad made his heart beat faster, made him grin uncontrollably like he was a little kid. Maybe it was a remnant of all those years stuck in the West of England, longing for a different colour than grey-ish cloud. Maybe it was just the natural excitement of change. Either way, Trott’s hands gripped his backpack strap a little tighter at the sound of suitcase wheels across a carpark.

Underneath them, the plane started its engines, and the excited atmosphere of the passengers spiked a little. Feeling a small poke in his forearm, Trott turned and raised an eyebrow at the grinning auburn haired man sitting next to him. Smith shook a bag of Starburst at him, and Trott smiled. The take off always hurt his ears, and having something to suck on made it easier. 

Looking over Smith’s chest, Trott noted how Ross knuckles were whitening on the arm rest of his seat. Due to the length of the flight, the plane was large enough for there to be a rows of three, allowing them to all sit together. Trott glanced back up at Smith, meeting his gaze with knowing concern, and Smith nodded. The taller man then turned to Ross, offering him a Starburst and a comforting smile. Trott and Smith both knew how much he hated to fly.

After a few minutes of waiting, the plane slowly pulled away from the gate, and moved toward the runway. There was then more waiting at the end of the runway in a queue of planes waiting to take off, and Trott vaguely heard Turps make a joke about England and queuing from the seat behind them. Turps had been making a lot more jokes than normal this morning. Either due to the excitement of travelling, the tiredness from getting up at 2am to catch the flight, or to hide the fact that this was going to be the longest time he had spent way from his family since his daughter had been born.

After another few minutes wait, the engines revved, and they moved onto the runway. The plane positioned itself at the end of the long tarmac, and Trott popped his Starburst into his mouth. The belly of the plane rumbled furiously as the engines kicked in, and they were shot forward at a surprising speed. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ross gripping Smith’s wrist in terror, and he could swear he heard excited laughter from a few seats in front that sounded suspiciously like Kim. An odd feeling hit his belly as the wings of the beast twitched and suddenly they were ascending.

With the G force pushing him back into his seat, Trott couldn’t help but grin at the sight of London becoming smaller and smaller beneath him. The airport became lost in a sea of roads and housing, suburbia overwhelming it’s once-large presence. Cars zoomed around on the motorways below him, people on the way to work on a monday morning becoming small toys strewn across his bedroom floor.

Gulping in an attempt to clear his ears, Trott glanced over to the paled Ross and shot him a sympathetic look. He was a nervous flier at the best of times, but with an engine this big and the foreboding shadow of a long flight ahead of him, Ross was still clutching Smith’s wrist in terror. He relaxed a little more once the flight levelled out at a certain attitude, but he was nowhere near taking his seat belt off like the rest of the passengers.

“Is everyone alright?” Trott heard a voice behind him ask. Looking round to see Turps peering over the seat to scan the group with concern, he smiled. Turps always had their backs. A collective mumble of reassurance rose from the group, and Trott kneeled upon his seat to see where everyone was.

Behind them sat Turps, Sips and Sjin. Trott barely contained a laugh at the already asleep Canadian, slumped on Sjin’s shoulder with his baseball cap pulled over his eyes. Sjin had plugged his headphones in and looked barely awake himself, which was fair enough considering the time they had to get up this morning to catch this flight.

In front of himself was Lewis, Hannah and Simon. They had barely convinced the ginger man to come with them, but in the end the attractiveness of Australia had bested his unwillingness to go. Besides, the convention had paid a lot of money to get most of the Yogscast there, what better ticket-seller than the elusive co-founder of the bunch?

Duncan and Kim were seated in front of those three. Kim had been giddy with excitement for a few days now, talking endlessly about what she was going to buy and all the different swimsuits she had packed. Duncan was another nervous flier, though not as bad as Ross. He seemed a lot more comfortable than the dark haired man did, giving Turps a wave to show he was okay.

Further towards the end of the plane sat Parv, Sparkles*, Leo and Kogie. They were a last minute booking, courtesy of the event wanting a live band and Lewis offering them up with startling enthusiasm. The main Yogs were being paid for by the event, but Area 11 had to fly themselves out there, resulting in different seats and a different location in the hotels. 

“You alright, Ross?” Turps asked, bringing Trott’s focus back from trying to spot the band in the sea of heads.

“Yeah.” Ross smiled weakly, removing his hand from Smith’s wrist and taking a deep breath. Turps nodded and shared a glance with Trott.

“Let me know if he starts feeling iffy.” He said, Trott nodded reassuringly and sat back down in his seat. 

Rummaging around at his feet, he pulled his iPad and a headphone splitter out of his backpack. Smith plugged the ends of their headphones into the splitter, as Trott set up the iPad on the tall man’s tray table. It was a twelve hour flight, and though Trott and Smith could fly fine, none of them could manage to sleep on planes.

Plugging his own headphones in and the splitter into the iPad, he selected one of the many prepared movies and sat back in his seat. Smith kicked off his shoes in an attempt to get comfortable, and the other two followed suit. It was going to be a long flight.

—————

_Experts have stated that the likeliness of Singapore being affected by any sort of sea-related disaster is extremely unlikely, due to the formation of the sea bed and the surrounding island’s protection. It has been suggested that the only real threat to Singapore is the Mindanao Trench, a fault line just west of the Philippines. Though an earthquake of 9 or higher in magnitude would be needed to create any type of damage, and this is incredibly unlikely._

—————

Ross was awoken by the flight attendant politely shaking him with the news that they would be landing soon. Smiling thanks and lifting his head off of Smith’s shoulder, he turned to alert the other two. They were also asleep, exhaustion getting the better of all of them. Trott’s head slumped on Smith’s other shoulder, and Smith leaning back in his seat. Ross smiled at the pair, and decided to leave them be for a bit.

Instead he put his shoes back on and took his headphones out of his ears. The music was still playing, Ross must have passed out from tiredness without switching it off. Above him, a soft ding announced the return of the seatbelt sign, and he turned to wake the other two.

Landing was worse than taking off, in Ross’ opinion, and he spent the decent with one hand gripping the armrest and the other holding Smith’s. Their friendship was close enough for it to not be weird, and the feeling of one of his best friend’s hands holding his own kept him calm. 

It was the bump that was the worst bit, the wheels of the plane colliding with the rough tarmac made Ross jump and squeeze Smith’s hand to a painful extent. The taller man gave out a yelp at the sudden pressure, and Ross let go with a sheepish smile. Smith laughed and shook his hand, returning Ross’ smile with a reassuring grin.

They let all of the other passengers get off the plane first, not wanting to risk losing each other in the crowd. Luckily, the Area 11 boys had the same idea, and they grouped up with them before heading to the exit. Ross let out a relieved breath as he stepped out of the aircraft, the first leg of their journey was over.

After piling onto a cramped, air conditioned bus, the passengers were taken to the main airport building. Ross quickly removed his hoodie after feeling the heat of the climate, following Smith’s suit of a t-shirt and shorts combo. It was stupidly hot, with Singapore being incredibly close to the equator. Ross noted Kim’s giddy smile at the temperature, and remembered that Singapore was right on the tail of Malaysia.

Baggage claim and passport control followed the short bus ride. They were over surprisingly quickly, with only a short panic after losing Parv in a crowd of American businessmen. After regrouping and a quick scolding from Lewis, they found their bus driver and began their travel to the hotel.

Though it was small, the hired bus had just enough room for them and all their bags. The original plan had been for a series of taxis, but the addition of Area 11 pushed Turps to say ‘fuck it’ and hire a small bus to take them around. It was not a long journey, a few hours at most, but it was worth it for the extra leg room.

Deciding to splash out a little on their four day stay between locations. Turps had booked them a hotel on the coast of one of the nearby islands. This meant a short ferry ride, but most of the group had either gone back to sleep or were too exhausted to notice the swaying bus. There was a small cheer from the awake crowd as they pulled up at the ‘Turi Beach Resort’.

It was a nice hotel, Ross was sure of it. He would have paid attention to the glamorous reception and lovely view of the sea, but his mind was foggy with exhaustion and all he wanted to do was collapse in a hotel bed. They checked in and said farewell to Area 11, who were in a different part of the compound. 

There could only be two to a hotel room, Ross and Smith ended up together after Trott offered to share with Turps, allowing Simon to have his own room. Used to sharing by now, no one was really bothered by the arrangement, and they were all in the same hallway anyway. Ross passed the keycard to Smith immediately after being given it by Lewis, knowing that there was no way his brain was in a coherent enough state to find the room.

Smith laughed as Ross leant against the wall of the hallway, waiting for the taller man to open the room door and almost falling asleep in the process. Ross watched with tired eyes as Smith swiped the card and the light on the lock flashed green, unlocking the door. They both stumbled into the room, Ross dropping his suitcase and instantly collapsing eagle spread on the large double bed.

“Don’t fall asleep yet mate.” Smith hummed, closing the door behind them. “At least get out of those clothes first.”

Ross gave an incoherent grumble from where his face was pressed into the duvet, and Smith laughed. 

“Trust me, you wanna change.” Smith said, walking over to Ross and rolling him over. Ross groaned and rubbed his eyes, prompting another laugh from Smith. After blinking a few times to try and wake himself up a bit, Ross propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the room.

It was a small, sweet room with a jungle-themed interior design. Two double beds took up most of the space, a small bedside table between them with a singular lamp atop it. A large mirror and vanity set stood next to the end bed, smooth wooden drawers for cupboard space. There was a small wardrobe in the left corner of the room, opposite the door to the en suite bathroom and shower. It wasn’t much, and it was clear that this type of room was only meant for short stays, but it was enough.

Plus they had a balcony. Large glass doors stood at the end of the room, allowing light to spill onto Ross’ face. Sitting up, Ross pulled up his shoes and socks and moved over to the balcony, pushing the doors open to inspect it further. Though small, it had room enough for a few deck chairs and allowed a gracious view of the Indian Ocean. They were close enough to still see Singapore and if the neighbouring island didn’t block their view they may have been able to spot the rest of Malaysia on the horizon. Smiling at the afternoon sun, Ross hovered on the balcony for a bit. 

“Oi!” Smith called from the room, grabbing the attention of the basking man. “You should still sleep, otherwise your body clock is going to be completely out of whack.”

“Yeah I know.” Ross replied, sidling back into the room and closing the door behind him. Smith had changed into pyjama bottoms, and Ross followed suit, preferring to sleep nude but knowing that probably wasn’t a good idea when sharing a room. Neither of them cared about their state of undress, after living together seeing the other in nothing but boxers wasn’t foreign to them.

Drawing the curtains across the balcony doors to block out the sunlight, Ross sighed at the soft darkness of the room. Smith laughed at the sound of Ross collapsing on the bed once again, and pulled the covers over himself. The dark haired man hummed at the softness of the mattress and fell asleep almost instantly.

—————

_If an earthquake of such magnitude did strike the Mindanao Trench, the scale and speed of the resulting wave is almost impossible to calculate. Several experts have estimated a devastating wave of 6ft or higher, reaching the coast of Singapore, Malaysia, and surrounding islands in around 10 hours._

—————

**(10 hours : 30 minutes : 9 seconds)**

Jerking awake, Smith was panting as he sat straight upright in his bed. Rubbing one hand over his face, he sighed. Bad dream. It was probably the heat. Looking over to his left, he felt slightly reassured at seeing the form of Ross sleeping soundly. That idiot had practically passed out last night. Sighing again, he reached over to the side table to check the time on his phone. 6:36am. Too early, he grumbled to himself. Deciding it was worth it for another a hour of sleep, he lay back down and nuzzled his head into the pillow. Sleep claimed him once more.

**(9 hours : 3 minutes : 57 seconds)**

When Smith woke next, it was against his will, and he growled as the sound of his iPhone alarm invaded his sleep. Rolling over onto his back, he sighed and reached up to rub his hands over his face. Jet lag fogged his brain as he tried to force himself awake, if he didn't try to get up now his body clock would be fucked up for the rest of the trip. Something wet landed on his face and he jerked up in surprise, letting out a cry of horror.

“Get up!” Ross yelled, jumping onto his bed and picking up the washcloth from where it had fallen off of Smith’s face. Slapping the groaning man around the head a few more times, Ross laughed at Smith’s disgruntled expression. Ross was still in his pyjamas, he must have just woken up.

“Stop!” Smith cried, reaching up to grab his wrists. Ross laughed and wriggled around in his grip, legs kicking.

“Come on! Get up!” Ross grinned down at the taller man, Smith simply groaned and closed his eyes.

“Why the hell are you so awake?” Smith grumbled, letting go of Ross’ wrists. He clearly didn’t think this through, as Ross landed with a thud on Smith’s chest, knocking the breath out of the taller man’s lungs. Laughing at the others mistake, Ross rolled over to lie next to him.

“Slept well last night.” Ross explained. “And we’re on holiday!”’

“ _Right._ ” Smith said, emphasising his sarcastic tone. He rolled over to face the other man and tried to snuggle further back into the blankets. “You know it’s not Disneyland?” He mumbled into the pillow.

“Oh, come on.” Ross said, reaching over to smack Smith in the stomach. “You know you wanna enjoy the beach, right?”

“Yeah.” Smith said, giving in with a soft smile. Ross laughed at his sappy expression and rolled off of the bed.

“I’m going to get dressed.” Ross called, walking over to his suitcase. “I suggest you get up, or I’m gonna have to smack you with the cloth again.”

Smith chuckled at the man’s childlike excitement, and sat himself up in the bed. Drowsiness made his vision momentarily spin, and he groaned loudly. Smiling at the sound of Ross’ laughter from the bathroom, Smith pulled himself out of bed and walked over to his suitcase.

Judging by the sunlight already pouring through the window, it was going to be a hot day, and Smith kept this in mind as he picked out his outfit of a burgundy shirt and a pair of beige chinos.

“Really?” Ross asked, pulling on a thin white shirt to accompany his light blue shorts. Smith simply shrugged, allowing an amused smile. Why change a formula that worked so well? 

**(8 hours : 45 minutes : 36 seconds)**

After dressing, he brushed his teeth and washed his face. Ross wandered in to do his teeth as Smith was playing with his hair, attempting to make it into something other than a floppy mess. Ross let the toothbrush dangle in his mouth as he swatted the man’s hands away from his auburn curls. With a precision eye, Ross reached up and rearranged Smith’s hair into some sort of neatness. Smith smiled and let the man do his work, waiting until Ross gave him a thumbs up and went back to brushing his teeth.

Walking back into the room, Smith prepared his backpack for the day. Phone, book, wallet, suncream, water bottle, map of the area, passport (just in case) and sunglasses. Slipping that final item onto his forehead, he turned to look out of the balcony window. He smiled as he spotted children rushing towards the beach, followed by weary parents.

“Don’t forget your swimming trunks.” Ross pressed, exiting the bathroom and searching around for the room key. Smith swore and reached down to grab a pair from his suitcase, for once, Ross had reminded him of something.

**(7 hours : 15 minutes : 12 seconds)**

They travelled down to breakfast together, only a little late. Joining the group at one of the large, reserved tables, they marvelled at the large selection of food. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet style breakfast, complete with cereals, breads, fruit, yoghurt, pancakes and even a fry up if you requested it. Smith wandered over to the selection of fruit juices on offer, and made it his mission to try all of them at least once during their four day stay here.

After collecting his desired food, and asking Ross to carry his drink for him so he could fit a few more bread rolls on his tray, he sat down with the group and started to eat. Only Area 11 were missing, and when Smith asked Lewis about this, he simply grumbled something about them being ‘lazy sods’ and explained they had decided to skip breakfast for a few more hours sleep.

**(6 hours : 40 minutes : 27 seconds)**

As they ate, they planned the course of the day together. Smith had already planned to visit the town with the Area 11 boys later, but he was up for a few hours by the pool beforehand. The resort was large, and there were lots of things he couldn’t wait to get signed up for. The group bumbled down to the poolside together, and Smith nabbed a sun lounger next to Trott before going off to change into his swimming shorts.

**(3 hours : 32 minutes : 26 seconds)**

Splashing and shouting in the pool was good fun and all, but it didn’t half wear Smith out. After a fantastic round of shoulder wrestling, with Trott on his shoulders and Lewis on Hannah’s, he retired to the side of the pool with his book. Trott got out too, slumping into the sun lounger next to him in exhaustion. Smith shot him a bemused smile, turning his attention back to the book, his poor eyesight appreciating the shade of the umbrella.

**(2 hours : 44 minutes : 16 seconds)**

It was 12:24 when Smith next checked his watch, about 20 minutes before he was supposed to meet the guys. Sighing, he grabbed his rucksack and sunglasses.

“I’m going out with the Area 11 boys.” He announced, receiving a simple nod of acknowledgement from Trott.

“Where?” Ross asked, sitting up from his sun lounger on the other side of Trott’s and pushing up his sunglasses to look at the man. 

“Just to the town.” Smith shrugged leaning over to grab his phone and shirt from the towel near the base of the umbrella. He pulled his shirt over his head, feeling Ross’ worried eyes on him.

“Keep your phone on you.” Ross said, giving him a warning stare. Smith simply rolled his eyes at him and made a noncommittal ‘sure’ sound. The darker haired man gave him a final worried glance and sighed, pulling down his sunglasses and lying back down on the sun lounger.

Putting on sunglasses of his own, Smith checked his phone again. They could pop into town for a bit of a look around, sure. Strolling through the resorts reception to get to the bus park, Smith smiled at the sight of a family of four checking into the hotel, big grins plastering their faces. The kids were young, and it looked like this was the farthest they had been from home.

Watching as the mother shushed her children into quiet, he thought about his own life. He was a few years off thirty now, and his parents were constantly pressing him with questions about settling down. Whether it with a man or a woman, Smith didn’t mind, but seeing himself married and with kids was something he was still struggling to do. He just couldn’t think of anyone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

The thoughts troubled him, so he pushed them out of his mind and focused on spotting the Area 11 boys instead. It wasn’t hard, considering their loud voices and incredibly English pale skin. They hovered in the shade, Kogie rubbing suncream into Leo's shoulders with a frustrated frown on his face, Sparkles* laughing as Leo complained about him missing a spot.

“Hey mate.” Sparks grinned, noticing Smith’s presence. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Smith grinned. Looking around, he noticed the absence of a certain tall man. “Where’s Parv?”

“Wasn’t feeling too good.” Sparks explained. “He doesn’t deal with jet lag too well. Should have seen him when we went to Japan, he was out of it for days.”

“Fair enough.” Smith shrugged, watching as Kogie snapped the lid onto the suncream and shoved it into Leo's backpack.

“Are you sure you got everywhere?” Leo asked, receiving a heavy sigh from Kogie.

“Yes.” He emphasised, rolling his eyes. “If you don’t want sunburn you shouldn’t be wearing a bloody tank top anyway.”

“Come on Kogie.” He whined, showing likeness to Parv. “You know it’s my thing.”

“Hey guys!” A voice called from behind them, cutting off their argument. They turned simultaneously turned to spot a balding Canadian man pushing his way through the crowd towards them, tugging an aspirated Lewis along with him.

“Sips?” Smith asked, receiving a lazy grin from the guy.

“Hey fellas.” He smiled, reaching up to adjust his cap, it had been knocked slightly askew in the crowd.

“Hey.” Lewis said, seemingly annoyed that he had been dragged along.

“Coming with us are ya?” Sparks asked, returning the man’s grin.

“The beach was boing.” Sips shrugged. Smith rolled his eyes at the man’s impulsiveness and spotted the shuttle arriving over the heads of the crowd.

“Shuttles here.” He announced, causing Kogie to spin into a state of panic, checking that everyone was here and everyone had everything and did we all bring snacks? No? That’s fine I packed extra. 

Sparks laughed again at the man’s motherly behaviour and lead the group to the bus. Smith smiled at the group as he hovered at the back with Sips. They didn’t get to hangout together nearly as much as he would like, and it was nice to have a change from the usual Trott and Ross banter. Not that he could ever get tired of it, those two were brothers to him, but it was still nice to see other people once in a while.

Sitting down one of the bus seats next to Sips, Smith laughed as the Canadian pulled a face.  
“Problem?” He asked, settling his bag under his legs.

“It’s too hot on here.” The Canadian complained, earning another laugh from Smith. He wasn’t wrong, the heat of the country and the amount of people in such a small space did create a lovely sweaty atmosphere.

“Don’t worry.” Smith said, pulling out his map from his backpack. “It’s a costal town, see? You can have a nice dip in the sea once we get there.”

“Whatever Smiffy.” Sips said, brushing off his suggestion with a wave of his hand. Smith shook his head and leaned back in his seat. Inspecting the map, he took in the details of the route further. It wasn’t far, only about a half an hour drive. They could walk back if they really wanted to, it would take them a few hours though, longer in this heat and they weren’t exactly in peak physical condition. Okay, maybe walking back was a bad idea.

They journey was spent in idle conversation, Smith half listening to something Sips was rambling on about. His time was mostly spent looking out of the window, taking in the scenery of the tropical country. For a climate so hot, there was a lot of rainforest, Acres of trees spread out on his left side, populated with multicoloured birds and insects, Smith could swear he even saw a monkey or two. On his other side, the ocean lay waiting before him, ever present in it’s sky blue glory.

**(1 hour : 3 minutes : 57 seconds)**

Finally pulling to a stop in the centre of the village, the passengers bustled off of the bus and into the afternoon sun. Clear skies smiled down upon them as they regrouped at the bus stop. Spotting a souvenir shop on the corner of the street, Sparks grinned and persuaded the group to give it a visit. Smith smiled, he could pick up something for his brother here, something cheesy and a bit shit.

**(0 hours : 30 minutes : 42 seconds)**

They spent a good while just wandering around shops. The beach was closed for some sort of turtle hatching, so they stuck to the town centre, flitting between fruit stalls and dodgy cafe’s. Smith sipped on his coffee and poked Lewis in the arm, requesting they go down to at least look at the beach. Lewis nodded, too busy trying to sort out Singaporean currency to pay for the coffees than argue with Smith about how they said they would be back by 3:15.

Strolling down to the beach, Smith licked at the ice cream they had picked up from the only ice cream place in town. They had passed it on their way to the beach, and Sparks had agreed that getting a Singaporean Fab was almost essential. He finished off the ice cream and chucked the stick into a nearby bin, having to jog to catch up with the group again.

**(0 hours : 1 minute : 12 seconds)**

The group had almost reached the beach, when they were stopped in the middle of the street by Sparkles*.

“What?” Smith asked, wanting to see the sea.

“Picture!” Sparks grinned, flashing his white teeth. The group seemed to all simultaneously roll their eyes, but bunched together anyway for Sparks to snap a picture of them in the middle of the street. They were in a bit of the old town, and aged high rise buildings stood on either side of them, creating a sweet atmosphere. Smith grinned and put an arm over Lewis, smiling bright for the photo.

Above them, a group of birds cawed, flying inland.

**(0 hours: 0 minutes : 40 seconds)**

Sparks took the picture and leaned back to look at it, he laughed and moved over to the rest of the group, pointing out to them where Sips clearly had his eyes closed. Smith laughed at the Canadian’s indignant huff, and looked up at the rest of the group’s smiling faces.

**(0 hours: 0 minutes : 30 seconds)**

From somewhere far behind them, Smith picked up a faint sound over the bustle of the crowd. A rumbling, fierce sound that showed likeness to a beast’s moan. Looking over to a nearby restaurant, he watched as a glass fell from where it was precariously balanced on a table. Underneath them, the ground seemed to shiver. A small earthquake?

**(0 hours: 0 minutes : 10 seconds)**

From further down the street, a woman let out a petrified scream. 

**(0 hours: 0 minutes : 5 seconds)**

The crowd froze, turning to look towards the source of the shout. More screams. Smith tried to use his height to see over the many heads.

**(0 hours: 0 minutes : 0 seconds)**

_Water._

_Water everywhere._

_Pushing_ and _shoving_ and _roaring_ in it’s glory. 

Invading his ears and propelling him backwards. 

_Pure force_ thrusting him into Sips, into the ground, into another tourist and against a wall. 

The water gave him a brief second on the surface, enough to catch a single breath before being pulled down once more. For a moment he could swear he heard Lewis shout.

Something heavy slammed into his back, and something sharp ripped across his arm. Water stained red and he tried to blink, seeing nothing but darkness and debris. He tried to find up, but it was almost impossible. He was tossed around like a rag doll, held in the grip of an angry child.

He was pulled and pushed and tugged and turned with the current. Wet clothes and shoes pulled him down, down into the dark where he saw nothing but the occasional flash of white skin. He tried to breath, and got nothing but water, tasting of salt and dirt and blood.

For a fleeting second, he saw a woman float by him. Time seemed to slow down, and in a moment of beauty she seemed peaceful. Her dark hair billowed around her face and her slightly open lips seemed as if she was whispering some dangerous secret to him. Her arms floated out from her body like an angel taking flight, and her simple floral dress pulled with the currents, like it was trying to escape her. With a shock to the system, he saw the rip in her abdomen and the red spilling from it at a rate too fast to be saved. In desperation he grabbed out at her, reaching for someone else, _something real_ , in the madness, white palms almost touching her dark wrist. Then time sped up again and she was pulled away from his grasp, sucked into the greedy depths of the water. It had happened in seconds.

As if to knock some sense into him, the current flipped him up towards the surface. His head broke the water with a triumphant gasp of air, and the echoing of the depths were replaced with cries and screams. Feeling something solid smack him in the arm, he grabbed out at it, clutching to what he saw to be a tree. Forcing against the still flowing, _still relentless_ , water, Smith wrapped himself around the tree and prayed to a laughing God to just _make it stop._

Among the rubble of people and houses, Smith saw a familiar pair of heads floating just ahead of him. Leo was desperately holding onto an unresponsive Kogie, trying and failing to keep them both afloat. Smith called out to them, but his voice was lost among the waves. With the currents tugging him and his clothes pulling him down and the _fucking endless water_ Smith looked from his secure grasp on the tree to his close-to-drowning friends and bit his lip. Giving out a frustrated sound, he launched himself off of the tree, pushing his legs against it for an extra boost against the current. He stretched out his arms and hoped to hell and back.

He collided with Leo, Kogie and a branch, the force of him sending them spinning into a building. Leo let out a surprised yelp at the contact, and a relieved one when he saw it was Smith. Grabbing the branch in one hand and Leo's shirt in the other, Smith raised the wood and swiped down, catching on something under the water and propelling them towards a floating car. They collided with the car in an impact that knocked the breath from Smith’s lungs and almost loosened his grip on Leo, but he held fast and grabbed the car with his free hand.

Catching onto his idea, Leo tried to support Smith and the still unconscious Kogie as Smith hoisted himself onto the roof of the car. It was a small, mini type thing, but there was room enough for all of them and Smith heard a happy cry from Leo as he splayed onto the roof, panting with effort. Next he pulled up Kogie, and then Leo, giving out a sigh of relief as they were all out of the water. 

“Are you okay?” Smith asked, but his voice was lost on the man, as his expression turned to pure helplessness at something over Smith’s shoulder.

Smith turned, and couldn’t help but let out a small sob. The laughing God bared its teeth and hissed.

There, just a few meters away from them, just as tall and mighty and fast and _fucking endless_ as the first.

A second wave.


	2. Ecchymosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second wave hits, and the only thing Ross can think to do is grab Kim and pull her close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a lot of comments on the last chapter about people dying, so I'm gonna warn you now: 4 (possibly 5) Yogs will not make it back.
> 
> So yeah, watch out for that.
> 
> Also sorry this took me fucking ages to write, I was having trouble with the dialect between some characters. Massive thanks to [miwio](http://miwio.tumblr.com/) for being my super awesome expert on everything singaporean and generally a fantastic beta :P

When the second wave hit, the only thing Ross could think to do was pull Kim into his chest and try to shield her from the brunt of the blast. Kim had screamed and grabbed onto his shirt, and he had held her as tight as the wall of water slammed into his back. Instantly, his breath was gone, knocked out of him and taken with the water and half of the wooden structure they had managed to get up on. Ross didn’t know what it was at the time, but it must have been the remnants of some sort of building or something. Whatever it was, it was completely destroyed now.

The force of the wave had pushed them off of the wood, and back into the water, desperately clutching onto each other’s clothes so they wouldn’t lose each other in the madness. They managed to surface, finding the currents of the second wave not as strong as the first, and Ross looked around. 

Everything was gone. The hotel. The beach. The huts. Everything. Ross couldn't tell where the land stopped and the sea began, everything just becoming an endless wasteland of dirty water and debris. A car floated past them, and Kim let out a sob. Though they were still being pushed backwards, the current wasn’t as strong now.

“Are you okay?” Ross asked, taking the opportunity. They were still holding on tightly to each other, and Ross was glad he had at least managed to find her.

“I don’t know.” Kim said, her voice shaking. “I can’t see, but I think so.”

Looking down, Ross realised everything below his waist was impossible to make out, obscured by filth and wreckage. There was no telling what was down there. What might be cut or broken. Kim was particularly at risk, as she was wearing only a bikini. They had been at the side of the pool when it had first hit, just the two of them, and Ross leaping into the pool and pulling Kim under the water to shield them from the wave was probably the only reason they were still alive. Somewhere above the rushing of the water, he heard a shout.

They both looked over to where Hannah was waving her arms in the air, standing on top of the one remaining building, it’s giant sign read ‘CAR RENTAL’ in baby blue letters. The building looked like it was made of brick, the only thing still keeping it stable. Behind her stood Parv, also waving his hands. Ross looked up at the clear sky and thanked whoever was up there for Hannah’s loud voice.

Ross looked down at Kim and couldn’t help but grin. Seeing others sparked some sort of hope in Ross, and he kicked harder than he thought he could against the water to swim over to them. They almost floated past the building, but Hannah reached out a long plank of wood and Ross grabbed onto it, using it to pull himself up onto the building. He splayed out on his back on the building, grinning at the feel of solid land, after a few moments he turned over to help Kim. She bobbed in the water, holding onto the end of the plank and grinning up at him.

Out of nowhere, a car slammed into Kim, propelled at high speeds by the water. She was ripped from the plank, and slipped back under the surface. Ross let out a cry of anguish, and stood, trying to spot her in the debris. She floated face down amongst several bits of a roof, not moving. Ross was about to jump in after her, but was stopped by Hannah’s hand on his shoulder.

“We can’t lose you too.” Hannah said, gripping Ross’ shoulder with grief in her eyes. Ross looked from her, to Kim, and back again.

“Stay here.” Ross commanded. “We’ll come and find you.”

Before Hannah could protest further, Ross jumped out as far as he could from the building, and hit the water once more. The twisting and pulling current had stopped, instead it was more like a river, and he was being pulled downstream. Kicking his legs and trying to avoid large bits of wreckage, he made his way towards Kim. 

Grabbing out, he managed to get a hold on her arm and pulled himself towards her. Rolling her over so she was face up, he sucked in a breath at her unconscious face. Holding onto her forearm he directed them both towards a large piece of floating wood. It wasn’t enough to support them both, but using strength he shouldn’t have had Ross managed to hoist Kim onto the makeshift raft. He stayed in the water, directing the wood so it didn’t smash into anything else.

His legs quickly got tired of kicking, and Ross knew that he would soon not have any more energy. Spotting a roof with several people standing on it, he used the last of his strength to direct the raft their way, and let the water carry them to the roof. They hit the roof with a soft bump, and Ross realised the people seemed to be locals of the area. Three men and two women.

One of the men, young enough to barely be called such, pulled Kim off of the raft and onto the roof, and an older male helped Ross out of the water. Panting with exhaustion, Ross gave them a quick nod and a thanks, before turning to look at Kim. Putting one hand to her heart and one ear to her mouth, his eyes widened. She wasn’t breathing.

Panic set in, and Ross heart started beating uncontrollably. She wasn’t breathing. _She wasn’t breathing._ Looking from side to side, he was met with pity in the men's eyes. He looked back down at the still form of Kim and _no. No no no no. She wasn’t breathing she wasn’t breathing she wasn't breathing NO._ Panic fogged his brain and he slipped into automation. Ross did the only thing he could think of and began pressing his hands in a steady beat against Kim’s chest, stopping only to press occasional breaths into her mouth.

_1\. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10._

_Breathe. Breathe._

_1\. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10._

_Breathe. Breathe._

_1\. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 -_

Kim spluttered and violently coughed up water. Ross grabbed her shoulders and rolled her onto her side, letting her throw up water and dirt into the sea. Her breaths were coming in hard and fast and she was still coughing but she was breathing. Letting out a relieved sigh, Ross sat back on his ankles and let a small smile take over his face. After getting most water out of her lungs, Kim gave a last cough and slumped onto her back. The locals around them murmured.

“What happened?” She asked, looking up at Ross.

“You got hit by a car and knocked underwater.” Ross explained, looking over Kim’s exposed body in search of injuries. “I jumped back in to save you.”

“But, Hannah.” Kim mumbled, closing her eyes and allowing Ross to check her. “And Parv.”

“They’re staying where I left them.” Ross explained, lifting up Kim’s legs to check on the back of them. “We’ll go and get them after the water has receded.”

“Ah!” Kim cried out, face contorting in pain as she reached down to touch her foot.

“What?” Ross said, suddenly panicked. “What hurts?”

“My ankle.” She groaned, pressing her head back against the concrete roof and closing her eyes again. “Don’t touch it.”

“Okay, okay.” Ross said, raising his hands in defence. Realising Kim was still relatively naked, Ross slipped off his dripping shirt and wrung it out over the side.

“Take this.” He said, handing it to Kim. She wearily opened her eyes, and took the shirt from him, too exhausted to blush. 

“Thanks.” She mumbled, pulling it over her head. “You said the water would recede?”

“Yeah.” Ross said, moving to sit more comfortably beside her. “It’s a tsunami. It’ll go.”

“A tsunami.” Kim said softly, more to herself than anything. “Lanjiao” She muttered.

“Singlish?” One of the locals asked, perking up at the sound of a familiar accent. It was one of the elder women, stepping towards them. “Where you from?”

“Malaysia” Kim said, looking at the woman and switching up her accent to sound more local. Ross had heard Kim speak on the phone to her mother before, it was English mostly, but with a much heavier accent and a few foreign words thrown in. He was able to understand most things, and others he could guess through context.

“I grew up in England but born in malaysia” Kim said. Ross noticed the change in accent and grammar patterns.

“He leh?” The woman asked, gesturing to Ross. 

“English also” Kim replied. “He’s with me. We’re travelling together”

“Is he your husband?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“No!” Kim exclaimed, Ross frowned next to her. “We’re just friends”

“Right.” The woman said, nodding. “What’s wrong with you?”

“My foot.” Kim said, gesturing to her ankle. “Tio stuck”

“Can walk anot?” The woman asked, now narrowing her eyes at Kim.

“Don’t know leh” Kim said, biting her lip.

“What’s up?” Ross asked, noticing Kim’s discomfort.

“She want’s to know how I’m going to walk.” Kim explained, looking worried herself.

“I’ll carry you.” Ross suggested, his mind set. It was the only way.

“But!” Kim started.

“You can’t walk, Kim!” Ross interrupted. She sighed, knowing that he was too chivalrous to relent.

“He carry me” She explained to the woman, she seemed set on only talking to Kim, maybe not understanding Ross’ thick English accent.

“Wah, so gentleman ah” The woman replied, her face twisting into a smile.

“No lah, not my husband!” Kim explained, blushing again. Ross looked between them in confusion. 

“What’s so wrong with being married to me?” Ross asked, seeming deeply hurt.

“Shut up.” Kim rolling her eyes and looking back to the woman.

“Hanar hanar, I’m Yi Ling.” The elderly woman said, gesturing to herself.

“I’m Kim.” She said. “This is Ross.”

Yi Ling nodded and looked away from them, out towards what looked like the sea. The water had started to recede and luckily they were fairly high above sea level, meaning that soon they would be able to see land. 

Standing and looking over to the left, Ross tried to see if he could spot Hannah and Parv again, but the receding water had exposed lots of larger wreckage that blocked his view. It also exposed the destruction the tsunami had caused, it was like someone had picked up all the pieces of a complete jigsaw and thrown them down again, scattering everything randomly. An entire fishing ship was lodged between a few trees to their right.

Something twisted in his stomach as he looked over the destruction in front of him. Such a large scale, so many people. He looked around, and something jolted in him as he saw something floating past them. Something with two arms and two legs and a torso and a face down head with hair splayed around it like a mask. And it couldn’t be human. Because with that gash down it’s back exposing flesh and muscle and flashes of white among so much _fucking red._ It couldn’t be _human. This wasn’t human._

Following his gaze, Yi Ling ‘tsk’ed at the corpse.

Turning back to Kim, he kneeled down next to her once again.

“Once the water goes, we need to find the others.” He said, her eyes widened as she thought of the rest of the group.

“Duncan.” She whispered softly, gritting her teeth.

“It’s okay.” Ross said, reaching down to take Kim’s hand. “We’ll find them. All of them.”

Their eyes met, and Kim nodded, small tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Ross squeezed her hand and gave her a supporting smile. At least they had each other. Kim and Ross had become close recently, with the crossover of their series’ they had started recording together more and more, and found they had many shared interests. She reminded him of a softer version of Alex, with her overuse of innuendoes and loud laugh. He reminded her of a slightly more adult version of Duncan, with his kind heart and manic side. They were soon on their way to friends, and then close friends, and then best friends. For Ross, she was second only to Chris and Alex, who were his brothers.

Thinking of Chris and Alex made something twist in Ross' gut. He prayed that they were okay, especially Alex, who was quite far away from them. Alex had left a while ago with some of the others to visit the town. The low lying, flat, coastal town. Oh God, the worry in Ross built as he continued thinking about Alex. He was in the town. With Sparks, Sips, Lewis, Kogie and Leo. He would be fine. He _had_ to be fine. _Without Alex -_

“Ross.” Kim said, squeezing his hand. “They are okay.”

Ross looked Kim in the eye, and decided to take her comfort, even though he knew it probably false.

_We’ll find them._

_They are okay._

Looking out across the environment again, Ross marvelled at how fast the water had fled. In and out like a flash of rage and unkempt force. Raking in bodies like bits of debris, snaring them by the Achilles’ heel and pulling them back to it’s hungry depths.

It took a while, but the water finally receded. Kim chatted with Yi Ling, asking her about the local area and their location. Yi Ling informed her that she didn’t know where they were, it was impossible to tell thanks to the destroyed surroundings. She guessed it was somewhere near the Montingo Resort, due to the large mass of trees to their left. Ross frowned at this, surely they couldn’t have been washed that fast West.

In their free time, Yi Ling also told Kim a bit about her life. She was 67, and the rest of the people with them were her daughter, her daughter’s husband and their two children. They had been living in the local village. She and her daughter had been hired as cleaners at the resort, and the husband had bought the kids up to visit mum. It was a lucky series of events, as the town they lived in was the one on the east coast of the island, low lying and facing directly out at the ocean. The one that would have been hit hardest. The one Alex was in. _The one Alex was –_

“Ross.” Kim said, capturing the attention of the worrying man. “Did you hear that?”

“Huh?” Ross responded, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“Yi Ling says the water is almost completely gone.” She said, looking out across the ruined landscape. It was truly incredible what _just water_ could do. If not for the dire circumstances, Ross would have been impressed.

“How do we get down?” Ross asked. As the water had gone, it had revealed the height of the building they were on; it was at least two storeys. 

“Over there!” The younger boy shouted, pointing to where a large ladder was conveniently floating in a pond of leftover water only a few meters right of them.

“How are we going to get it?” Ross asked, more to himself than anything, considering Kim was the only one who was willing to listen to him.

“There is no point in fretting, we’ll just have to wait.” Yi Ling said, sitting down and crossing her legs on the concrete roof. Ross raised an eyebrow at Kim in confusion.

Kim sighed, leaning back on her hands. Ross frowned at the passive idea, but understood that there was very little they could do. The height was too far to jump down without serious injury, and he and Kim were already beat up pretty bad by being caught in the water.

He looked up, and saw the clouds beginning to dissipate. He hoped the sun would come back, the wet clothes sticking to his body had become uncomfortable long ago. Looking down, he noticed Kim shifting uncomfortably with her back on the tarmac.

“Are you okay?” Ross asked, watching as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Fine.” Kim mumbled, propping herself up on one hand to flex out the wrist of the other. Frowning, Ross sat and ran a hand over the concrete roof. It was rough and bumpy, not something comfortable to lie on.

“Here.” Ross said, shuffling over to sit behind Kim. “Lean against me.” 

“Thanks.” Kim smiled, resting her back against his chest with a grateful sigh. This way, her back wouldn’t hurt from the concrete, and her wrists wouldn’t ache from propping herself up for a long time.

There was a moment of quiet where they both looked out across the area, keeping an eye out for people. Survivors. 

Nothing. Only a barren landscape of house debris and ripped up trees. Not many buildings were left standing, but the size and arrangement of them did suggest a resort of some kind. Bricks had been ripped from walls and strewn across what looked to be a green area just before the beach. Sun loungers were scattered messily around the swimming pool and parasols were lodged in various ruined buildings. Somewhere to their left, a car alarm sounded. 

“Duncan.” Kim mumbled to herself, watching as a tree groaned under the weight of the car resting up against it, and snapped in half. Ross looked down at her, and moved a hand up to stroke her arm in comfort.

Duncan and Kim had been flitting around each other for a while now, it was obvious to everyone apart from themselves that the attraction was mutual. Ross was sure that this trip would finally bring them together. Duncan nudged by Sjin’s grinning comments and Kim forced by Hannah’s strong hands. Ross would have teased her, of course, but he would have been happy for her too. They were a perfect match. Instead of uniting the pair, this trip had torn them apart, with Kim calling out to no one and Duncan gone with the waves.

For a second, Ross almost let the growing doubt in his stomach invade his thoughts. But instead he looked down at Kim and took a piece of her hair in his hand, playing with it softly.

_We’ll find them._

_They are okay._

The doubt snapped at him, and rumbled in it’s growing intensity.

_We’ll find Duncan._

_Alex is okay._

God, Ross hoped so.

To fill the space of waiting, Yi Ling’s eldest grandson asked them about the nature of the tsunami. He explained that his name was Joseph, and he was studying Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore. Ross and Kim had apparently took the brunt of the blast, and he asked them lots of questions about the wave itself.

When Kim had mentioned the second wave, Joseph had paled substantially. His hands started moving frantically and his speech became rapid. After explaining what he had said to Kim, Yi Ling bit her lip and grabbed her own wrist, something Ross assumed was a nervous habit of hers. Ross zoned out a little, letting Kim do most of the talking as he watched the wastescape before him. Kim turned to Ross, and took him by the arm, snapping him back to reality.

“He says this entire tsunami should be practically impossible.” Kim explained, fear dancing in her eyes. “The shelter surrounding us and seabed of this area should have prevented this from happening.”

“But it did happen.” Ross said, pointing out the obvious. “How?”

“The only source could be a shift in the Mariana Trench, but even then the wave should have been tiny.”

“But it wasn’t.”

“Ross.” Kim said, seeing that he was getting anxious again. “The Mariana Trench didn’t shift, it collapsed in on itself. Something fell hard and crashed into it, destroying the Philippines and knocking the surrounding debris into the trench. The force of the crash must have triggered several earthquakes, collapsing the trench further.”

“But -” Ross stammered, trying to take in the information. “What could have caused that?”

At that moment, something in Joseph’s pocket started ringing. With trembling hands, he pulled what looked like a satellite phone, it was amazing it was still working. Talking quickly, he turned to Yi Ling.

Kim looked at Ross, grasping tighter at his arm. Yi Ling looked to them with weary eyes.

“An asteroid has hit the Philippines.”

\----------

It was a while before any of them saw other people, but the two figures stumbling on the horizon captured all of their attention. The older son was up instantly, waving his hands in the air and shouting loud. Kim leant forward and put her weight on her hands, allowing Ross to get up and inspect the survivors. Their builds and hair suggested male, and their clothes and the colour of their skin screamed tourist.

“Hey!” Ross shouted, glad for his loud voice. The language seemed to be recognised by the survivors, and they turned to look in Ross’ direction. Ross watched as the one being leant on by the other cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted back.

“Hello?”

The voice boomed across the landscape, and Ross gasped with the familiarity of it. No one could shout that loud.

“Turps?”

God, Ross could hear the joyous laugh the man let out even from here. With a faster paced stumble, Turps and the other made their way towards the roof. Ross looked down at Kim with an open-mouthed smile, and she shot him a quick grin before explaining to Yi Ling who they were. The woman smiled and nodded excitedly, glad to see other survivors. As Turps approached, Ross recognised the other man as Sjin.

While they stumbled over, Ross got a proper look at the pair. Their clothes were drenched, and Sjin’s shirt was ripped open, showing a nasty cut to his lower ribs. It wasn’t bleeding, but infection could easily spread in all this mud.

“Are you guys okay?” Ross yelled. 

“Yeah, we’re alright. You?” Turps shouted back.

“Kim’s ankle is a bit fucked, but other than that we’re fine.” Ross replied. “Can you grab that ladder over there?”

“Oh, yeah.” Turps nodded, him and Sjin slowly making their way over to the ladder. It had drifted further, but only by a little, and it only took a few minutes for Turps and Sjin to haul it over to the building. Luckily it was only a two storey place, and the tip of the ladder just poked over the edge of the roof. They all clambered down, and Ross pulled the two men into a big hug once his feet hit solid ground. Solid was a bit of a stretch itself, he was still ankle deep in mud and water.

“Steady on.” Turps grinned, hugging back just as hard.

“Just glad you’re safe.” Ross smiled, standing back to let Kim hug the others. She was still wobbly because of her ankle, but Ross held her upright.

“Yeah, my stomachs a bit screwed.” Sjin said, putting his palm over the cut and wincing. “But we’re still kicking.”

Ross gave him a soft smile, but all their minds drifted to their other friends, hoping they had made it out too. Ross’ mind drifted back to the person he had seen earlier, floating face down in the water.

“We passed Hannah and Parv on a roof back there during the second wave.” Ross said. “I made it up with them, but Kim got hit by a car in the water and I jumped back in to get her.”

Turps’ eyes widened, and Ross noticed both of them looking her up and down for injury.

“I’m fine.” She consoled, and Ross frowned.

“She’s not, her ankles twisted or something, I’m gonna carry her.” Ross explained.

“We can share the weight.” Turps corrected, Sjin nodding in agreement. Though Ross was probably the stronger out of the three, and Kim was very light, he could only go so far carrying her by himself in this thick mud.

“Fine.” Ross said. “I told Hannah and Parv to stay put, we can go back and find them.”

“Sounds good.” Turps said. 

Ross got a feeling that he was just glad to have some sort of goal. Once they found Hannah and Parv, then what? Everything around for miles had been destroyed. What were they supposed to do? Sit back and wait for someone to get them?

Ross inspected Sjin’s wound as Kim explained their plan to Yi Ling. It wasn’t particularly deep, but it was long, and even a small cut could get infected.

“We need to cover this cut.” Ross said, Sjin nodded in compliance, he had gone back to leaning on Turps. 

“Here.” Turps said, getting Sjin to stand on his own for a moment before pulling off his own shirt. “Use this.”

“Thanks.” Ross smiled up at him, ripping the shirt into strips and using them to bandage up Sjin. He put the leftover strips of shirt in his pocket, having a feeling that he would need them again. Adjusting Sjin back over Turps’ shoulder, Ross frowned as he noticed a large purple-ish mark on Turps’ left temple.

“You alright?” He asked, gesturing to the bruise.

“Yeah yeah.” Turps nodded. “Just bonked my head on the edge of some building during the first wave.” 

“Okay.” Ross nodded, eyeing the mark cautiously.

“Yi Ling and the others want to come with us.” Kim announced from behind them. Ross turned to where she was leaning on the older woman.

“You do?” He asked, taking Kim from Yi Ling. She nodded solemnly. 

“We want to help.” She said simply. Ross nodded, accepting greatfully. They were tourists, and didn’t know the area well at all, having Yi Ling and her family around would prove very useful.

“So.” Kim said, looking up at him. “Which way?”

Ross looked around the group, they were all watching him expectantly. Cuts and bruised, their faces were twisted into a hopeful, determined grimace, and Ross couldn’t help but feel that he might collapse under the weight of the power they had given him, looking at him like a leader. But he didn’t, instead pulling Kim up to give her a piggyback, and nodding to his left.

“Let’s go find Hannah and Parv.”

The group nodded and mumbled okay, and they set off. Walking in the mud was difficult, and it was obvious they weren’t going to get there very fast. But Kim was lighter than he had expected her to be, and the clouds in the sky seemed to be clearing. 

Maybe it would all be okay.

\----------

They hadn’t been walking for long, but Ross could already feel the effects of hunger, dehydration, and general tiredness affecting the group. Ross was leading the way, even though he only vaguely knew where he was trying to go. He remembered the baby blue ‘CAR RENTAL’ sign on Hannah and Parv’s building, and had described it to Yi Ling, she confirmed that they were at least walking in the right general direction. 

As they walked, Kim had explained Joseph’s asteroid news to Turps and Sjin. They had scoffed initially, but after explaining that this was the only possible explanation, and lots of rapid talking about geography and plate formations from Joseph, Turps and Sjin paled, understanding the gravity of their situation. 

The entirety of the Philippines was gone, the man on the end of Joseph's phone had said. He was connected to the government somehow, and had used a lot of complicated vocabulary.

The entirety of the Philippines.

They kept walking.

Obstacles peppered their route, cars and trees and bits of building. They had even passed a small sailing boat, upside down, only the hull exposed. Buildings around them were destroyed, walls caved in and ceilings collapsed. Ross kept a wary eye out for anything that resembled a shop. He had no idea how long they would need to walk to find help once they found Hannah and Parv, food and clean water would soon become essential. 

He was about to suggest they stop and take a break, maybe try and scout their location because there was no way they could have floated _this_ far away from Hannah and Parv, when Ross spotted a baby blue sign on a brick building. ‘CAR RENTAL’.

“That’s it!” He cried in happiness, letting go of one of Kim’s legs to point out the sign. 

“Hannah!” Turps shouted out, making his way ahead over to the base of the building. “Parv! It’s Turps!”

It was a one storey car dealership, made of brick and concrete. There were large gaps in the walls where the glass panels had shattered, and floated away. A small, white smart car was the only thing left inside.

There was no response from the roof, and Ross felt a chill run down his spine. Kim wound her hands over his shoulders, clutching to his chest.

“Hannah?” Turps yelled again, louder. Ross turned to the others, and motioned them to stay back with his hands. Yi Ling nodded, and something in her eyes made Ross’ heart clench.

“Parvis?” Turps was still shouting, Sjin had a hand on his shoulder. “Alex Parvis?”

“Turps.” Ross said softly, walking over to the man.

“Hannah!?” Turps shouted. “Parv!?”

“Turps.” Ross said again, louder this time. Turps looked towards him, and Ross simply shook his head. “They’re not here.”

“Then where are they?” Turps bit back, anger in his eyes. It caught Ross a bit off guard. 

“We’ll find them.” Kim reassured, looking at him over Ross’ shoulder. “We’ll find all of them.”

She was thinking of Duncan again, reiterating what Ross had promised her earlier.

Turps held his gaze with her for a second, before dropping his head and nodding. Sjin patted him on the shoulder in comfort, but his face was that of equal distress.

“We’ve got to keep moving.” Ross stated after a moment. The others mumbled in agreement, and started back towards the group of locals. 

Ross stayed for a moment, looking up at that baby blue sign. It was tarnished with mud and debris, the ‘N’ from ‘RENTAL’ had been ripped off.

“We’ll find them.” Kim repeated, mumbling into his ear. He nodded, trying to convince himself the same way he had convinced her.

He was about to turn back to the group, when something large and white caught his eye, just behind one of the trees next to the dealership. His eyes narrowed as he focused in on it.

Pale skin. 

Ross took an unwilling step forward, Kim noticed it too.

Torn clothes.

Kim gasped and buried her face in his neck.

Blood _everywhere._

Ross’ stomach twisted into knots. He fought the urge to throw up. 

It was a dead body.

“Ross?” Turps called from behind him. Ross’ heart seemed to be crushed by some gigantic force, and he couldn’t help releasing a pained cry, tears escaping him.

_A familiar dead body._

_Oh God._


	3. Plantation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all i can say is soz really

Trott breathed out slowly and calmly. Slowly. And calmly. He thought in slow motion, trying to still his shaking hands. His hair was wet, and dripped softly onto the soft flesh of his leg. Something hot beat down onto his bare shoulder blades, and Trott was vaguely reminded of the sun overhead. Blinking slowly and taking another deep breath, he stood.

Feet caked with blood and dirt, Trott started to walk. He did not think about think about the endless remnants of destruction that lay around him, scattered like broken toys. He did not think about his aching muscles and the purple series of bruises that were forming under his torn shirt. He did not think about the familiar, warm blood on his face and hands. The blood that was not his.

He did not think of the body he was leaving behind. The ‘Car Rental’ sign acting as a flickering gravestone.

Instead he thought of the faces he had been swept past in the wave, the hands he almost grasped. Before the sea had swallowed him whole and marked him with the fragile constellations of tiny cuts on the back of his thighs. He winced at the memory of the glass being pulled out, steady hands replacing his own to perform the extraction.

Duncan put a hand on his shoulder, and Trott relaxed slightly under the other’s touch. He realised that he had stopped walking, and was staring at his feet.

“There was nothing you could have done.” The blonde said, softly. Trott looked up, watching as Duncan’s eyes welled with tears. 

“Simon was one of the best of us.” Trott mumbled, and Duncan nodded solemnly, tears falling in silence. 

Cursing something he didn’t believe in, Trott looked up at the wasteland horizon before him. If fate was real, and their destiny was truly set in the stars clouded above them, then he just wanted to go home. There was nothing left to fight.

The death of his friend weighed on his shoulders, and the blood on his hands was starting to dry. Fields of cold, wet mud stretched before them, peppered with remnants of buildings and pieces of cars. Trott sniffed, wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his shaking hand, and began to walk again. Leaving behind the body of one of the nicest people he had known and the shattered pieces of the life he used to have.

They walked in half stunned, half respectful silence. The recently carved hole of loss that resided in the pit of Trott’s stomach seemed to ache every time he breathed, and his face contorted in pain whenever he thought about it. 

What would he tell Lewis? Simon’s parents? Smith and Ross? Katie? How would he be able to look them in the eye and tell them what had happened? How he had been too scared, too weak. How he had let go of Simon’s wrist and watched in helpless desperation as the wave smashed his friend’s kind head into the brick wall, splitting his skull. 

“Everything’s gone.” Duncan mumbled to himself, observing the remainder of his surroundings. 

“Yeah.” Trott replied unhelpfully.

There was nothing much to say after that.

Mud squished beneath their bare feet as they walked, trying to find their way back to the hotel. They had been grabbing lunch when the wave had hit, the glass doors shattering under the pressure and leaving shards in Trott’s legs. Him, Duncan and Simon had been sucked out into the open by the fast pullback of the first wave, and rushed into town when the second one crashed.

Now he walked with a limp, and Simon was dead.

“I don’t know where we go from here.” Duncan admitted.

It was a roundabout, met by a pentacle of streets. With most of the horizon and any prominent landmarks torn down, it was impossible to recognize their surroundings. From what Trott could tell, they had three options. 

To their left was the coast. The destruction of the wave had left it clearly unobstructed by houses, open and possibly a threat. In front of them was the main road. They had been walking for long enough for the water to recede, allowing them to see the painted tarmac highway that lead to the port. To their right was the forest. It’s outline of trees stood against the destroyed town up high on the sloping land, providing a safe high ground in case of further troubles from the sea.

“Coast, road or forest.” Trott said, and Duncan looked at him.

“What do you think?”

He thought about dying. He thought about telling Duncan he was thinking about dying. He thought about Duncan telling him that he was being melodramatic for thinking about dying. It’s only the end of the word, Trott. Simon’s the dead one, thanks to you. Get over yourself. 

He thought about keeping his mouth shut.

“I don’t know.” He mumbled, and Duncan put a large hand on his shoulder again. A sign of faint reassurance. 

Duncan didn’t know. Duncan didn’t see him let go. All he saw was Simon’s body and the blood on Trott’s hands from where he had tried to put pressure on the wound, tried to help. Duncan, lovely Duncan, had assumed the best. Instantly pulling Trott into a comforting hug. Patting his hair as Trott cried into his shoulder about the best friend he had killed.

“I think forest is a safe bet, we can take a shortcut to the port through there.” Duncan said. “Lewis would tell everyone to go to the port. To be safe and get to the port.”

He paused, and Trott looked up and him. His eyes were clouded over and he was looking off at something in the distance.

“Lewis would...” He trailed off again, seeming to be unable to finish his sentence.

“He would.” Trott nodded, trying to offer a vague comfort. “He would want us to stay safe, he’s going to be waiting for us at the port.”

Duncan nodded. They both took a few beats of rest, thinking about the long journey looming over them. The port was a few hours drive from here, how long would it take to walk that?

“Should we have a look around for stuff?” Duncan suggested. Supplies seemed like a good idea.

“Yeah.” Trott nodded, absently. He was still a bit numb to the idea of this compact apocalypse. 

They headed towards the nearest house, or whatever was left of it. Duncan soon gave up on trying to encourage Trott into conversation, as he either gave one word answers or simply nodded to show his mute understanding. There was nothing useful in the house, considering how much they could carry, so they moved on to the one next door.

Continuing around the rest of the nearby houses, they took all they could. Duncan found a backpack hung up on the back of a bedroom door, allowing them to carry enough food for the two of them. Medicine was a rarity, their only collection being a pack of paracetamol that was found in a bathroom cabinet. Water in abundance. None of it drinkable.

“We should start moving.” Duncan suggested, looking up at the position of the sun in the sky.

Trott nodded, and they started to walk towards the forest. They hadn’t seen any other survivors yet, and this worried Trott. Surely they couldn’t be the only ones left. Surely they couldn’t be the only ones still here.

“Wait.” Duncan said, putting a hand out to stop Trott. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” 

“Listen.” 

Silence fell, and Trott attempted to hear whatever Duncan was picking up. 

“I think my ears are fucked.” Trott said. His left seemed slightly muffled.

Duncan wasn’t listening to him. Duncan had wide eyes and a slightly widened mouth. Duncan was looking over Trott’s shoulder, and grinning.

Trott turned, and he saw. People. Not only people, but Hannah and Parv, stumbling towards them. Hannah supporting a half-unconscious Parvis, his shirt stained with red. Hannah waved.

The were real, they were there. They were standing right in front of him, engulfing both him and Duncan in big hugs, and forehead kisses. Both parties amazed that they had found someone else in the wilderness. Something other than debris and mud. Each other.

“Parv.” Duncan says, pressing a hand to the man’s head and inspecting his wound softly. 

“It’s fine.” Parvis says, pushing Duncan’s hand away but wincing all the same.

It didn’t look fine, the gash was deep, crossing from the middle of his forehead to just above his left eye. It was short, but dried blood was still partly stuck across Parv’s face, and his brow was constantly furrowed in pain.

“Let’s find you a bandage for that.” Duncan says, once again being useful.

Trott once again said nothing.

“Have you seen Lewis?” Hannah asked him. Her body held a tension of desperateness and urgency, of hope.

Trott shook his head, and her shoulders sagged a little.

Duncan looked around for a minute and spotted an abandoned shirt on the ground near one of the houses, he grabbed it and pulled the sleeve off it. 

“Here.” He said, wrapping the sleeve around Parv’s head. He tied the ends in a knot, and looked Parv in the eye. Parv nodded and mumbled a thanks.

“We're going to go to the Port.” Trott said, trying to say something.

“Yeah good idea.” Hannah nodded. “They’ll be running rescue crews on and off the island. I’m surprised we haven’t seen any helicopters or anything yet.”

“We don’t know the full problem yet.” Duncan commented. “We don’t know if this is the only area affected, or what the cause was. Could have been a really big earthquake somewhere else or something. We shouldn’t assume help is coming soon.”

“Yeah true.” Hannah agreed. 

Trott thought they were very smart.

“We were gonna go through the forest, it's faster and we can be shielded from any other bullshit there.”

“Okay.” Hannah nodded. “Let's make a move then, we need to get Parv to some medical help as soon as possible.”

“Yes please.” Parv said, still leaning heavily on Hannah.

“We’re lucky we haven’t lost anyone yet.” Hannah commented, and Trott’s breath caught in his throat.

“Hannah.” Duncan said softly.

And it was like Trott mentally removed himself from the conversation. He just watched as Duncan spoke, and tears spilled from Parv’s eyes, and Hannah sunk to her knees. He couldn’t stand to relive the experience again, watching in silence as they grieved for the first time. There was a break as they all bowed their heads, out of sadness, remembrance, fear and shame. It seemed to hit them all at once. This was real. It could have been any one of them.

“Please.” Parv said, his face was tired. “Let’s go.”

The others nodded, and they made their way into the forest.

It was a dense, alive, thing. That forest. The plant life was thick and demanding, and Trott felt like he was fighting to move with every step. Totally unphased by the disaster, the forest stood tall and vibrant, beautiful and living. Trees swayed in the wind and the wildlife went about its business, completely ignoring the disaster victims trying to make their way through. They tried to stick to natural made paths, and soon the only way they could keep direction was by looking at the placement of the sun. 

After a while, it was obvious they needed to stop for rest. It felt like they had been walking for hours, and they were all feeling the effects. Trott’s legs were shaking, and Hannah and Duncan had to alternate carrying Parvis every five minutes or so. 

“Up ahead.” Hannah called, and Trott looked up to see something through the treeline.

“Let’s check it out.” Duncan said.

They started to push through the trees with a new sense of urgency, Trott feeling a little revitalised at the opportunity of lying down. Hacking through the plant life with nothing but their hands, they finally stumbled out onto a break in the forest. A large wood cabin stood before them, with rows of fruit trees stretching out behind it.

“It’s a plantation.” Hannah mumbled, taking in the sight.

“Hello?” Duncan called out, he walked towards the cabin, seeing if there was someone to help.

The rest of them trailed behind, eager to find some aid.

Coming up to the house, it was clear it was abandoned. The door was ajar, and once they had stepped inside, they found most of the drawers had been emptied. The workers had left in a hurry.

“Come on Parv.” Duncan said, leading the tired man over to a bed. “Let’s get some rest.”

Trott and Hannah explored the rest of the house while Duncan changed Parv’s bandages. The complex wasn’t large, and it was more of a bunkhouse than a family home. It had only three large rooms. A common room, with seating and a large table for eating meals at. A bedroom, layed out more like a dormitory, with about six bunk beds lining two of the long walls. And a kitchen, with plenty of space for cooking, and a large sink and cupboard space. There was also a small bathroom, with only a toilet and a shower.

Hannah immediately started searching the bathroom cabinets, looking for medical supplies. Trott went for the kitchen, opening cupboards in search of any food. Unfortunately, it looked like the workers had taken most of the food with them. There were a few cans of beans, and some rice. They had left most of the items that would go off, there was milk and some meats in the fridge. The fact that they had taken most of the long life stuff made Trott uneasy, as if they were planning for the long haul.

“Find anything?” Duncan asked, walking into the room.

“Not much.” Trott sighed. “It looks like they took most of it.”

“Weird.” Duncan said. “That’s a lot of food to take.”

“Like they knew they were gonna be on their own for a while.”

“Yeah.” 

They stood in silence for a moment, an uneasy tension hanging between them. Something about the unknown terrified them. 

“Let’s get it all together.” Duncan suggested, Trott nodded in agreement. 

They spent around twenty minutes going through the rest of the cupboards, looking for anything of use. Duncan took a few of the knives out of the cutlery drawer, wrapping them in a tea towel and putting them in his backpack. Trott found nothing else of use, but noticed something outside through the window.

“Look at that.” He pointed out to Duncan.

It was a machete, stuck in a tree stump next to some chopped wood outside. 

“Might be useful.” Duncan said.

Trott began piling their food into the backpack as Duncan stepped outside to grab the machete. He pulled it out of the stump with ease and Trott noted how strong Duncan was. When did that happen?

Hannah stepped into the kitchen, carrying some medical stuff in her arms. She unloaded them onto the sideboard to show Trott.

“Okay.” She said. “I’ve found plasters, some antibacterial wipes, some proper bandages and some more painkillers.”

“That’s good.” Trott nodded.

“Parvs passed out, I washed his cut and disinfected it, hopefully he feels better when he wakes up.”

“Yeah.” Trott nodded again.

“How’s your leg? Duncan mentioned it was bad.”

“It’s fine.” Trott shrugged, even though it was definitely not fine.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to disinfect it?”

“It’s okay.”

“Alright.” Hannah said, eyeing him suspiciously.

Duncan stepped back into the kitchen, wielding the machete.

“Check this out.” He said, smiling.

“Useful for the plants.” Hannah commented.

Duncan nodded and put the machete down next to the backpack.

“Is Parv asleep?” He asked.

“Yeah, we should probably get some rest too.”

They all agreed, feeling the ache in their muscles. Each individual was exhausted, from carrying Parvis, from carrying the weight of what happened. It hadn’t really sunk in, what happend. The wave. Simon. The rampant destruction.

It was almost incomparable, how much had happened in the last 24 hours. How their lives had been grabbed, and thrown out of a car door at high speed. The word as they knew it had been flipped, and Trott half laughed at the things he used to worry about. Friendships, relationships, his job. He was such a fucking waste. Simon was dead.

Something heavy weighed on him as he lay back on the workers bed. Something dark and malicious, pushing on his chest and drawing tears from his eyes.

He cried like a child, curled around himself. 

He cried for Simon. For Smith and Ross, not knowing if they were okay. He cried for Parv. For the life he would have to go back to after this. For the pain in his legs. For his mental health. For any sense of false stability he had lost. For himself. He cried because he knew how useless he was. He cried because he knew he was crying for himself.

Trott lay silent, reaching the point where your body can no longer cry. He lay there, in his own self pity, unable to move. 

And eventually, Trott slept.


End file.
